Quick and Easy Teriyaki Salmon

Sweet, tangy and delicious! This simple teriyaki salmon recipe is an easy dinner you can enjoy all year round. Our homemade teriyaki sauce takes little time to make and adds that wonderful umami flavor. Served with jasmine rice and steamed broccoli, its the perfect weeknight dinner.

We used to order this dish from a local restaurant, and then we discovered how easy it is to make and how much better it tastes preparing it at home. Our girls love this as well, and its a great way to get them to eat fish and vegetables. We typically get our salmon from Costco in their frozen food section, as it is less expensive and and comes in individual portion pouches.

What you need to make Quick and Easy Teriyaki Salmon:

How to make Quick and Easy Teriyaki Salmon:

MARINATE IT: Add garlic, ginger, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon mirin, 2 tablespoons maple syrup and a drizzle of olive oil to a large ziplock bag. Swish the bag around so that the seasonings mix well. Next, add the salmon fillets to the bag and let marinate for up to 2 hours in the refrigerator, but at least 20 minutes. Remove the salmon from the marinade and bring to room temperature. Set marinade aside, you will be using it in the steps below.

SAUCE IT: We will be using the marinade to make the sauce and since the marinade was used for the raw salmon, we need to bring it to a boil in order to destroy any nasty pathogens or bacteria.

Add reserved marinade, 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup, and a splash of mirin to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Once done, I prefer to strain out the ginger and garlic for a smoother sauce. You can however leave them in.

THICKEN IT: This is an optional step that we do because our girls love to eat this dish with jasmine rice. I find a thicker sauce will cling to the salmon and rice instead of pooling at the bottom of the plate.

Once strained, add the sauce back to the pan and set aside. Next, make a slurry by adding 1 teaspoon of corn starch and 2-3 tablespoons of water to a small bowl and mix to combine. Add the slurry to the sauce pan with the reduced marinade and bring to a simmer over low heat until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. If the sauce gets away from you and gets too thick, you can always thin it out with a few more tablespoons of water.

GRILL IT: Heat a heavy bottom skillet or indoor grill at medium high heat. Coat the pan or grill with olive oil. Place salmon skin side down (if skinless, place salmon on the side that would have had the skin) on the skillet or grill. Cook for 2-3 minutes until salmon fillets are opaque halfway up the sides. Turn them over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Cooking times may vary based on the type of salmon you are using and how thick the fillets are. For example, if your salmon is skinless vs. skinned, the skinned will take slightly longer. If it’s farm raised vs. wild caught, the wild caught will dry out faster, requiring less cooking time. Once done, transfer the salmon to a plate and spoon the sauce over it.

Garnish with chopped scallions or toasted sesame seeds. For a complete and healthy meal, enjoy this with rice and a green vegetable. We love eating it with steamed broccoli or our Delicious and Easy Asian Cucumber Salad.